BENGAL. caste into the sold hats or topis flowers
and ornaments
and
Silk
.
saltpetre.
—The
worn by Europeans, and into
for native ceremonies.
manufactures of Bengal calling sugar,
309
The two
production of
Among
artificial
the important
for special notice are indigo, tea, silk,
first
silk
have already been mentioned.
has long been an important industry.
In the days of the East India Company, numerous large filatures, managed by the Company, did a valuable trade. The ruins of some of these may still be met with, and on the sites of others are seen new filatures belonging to the firms which succeeded to the Company’s trade. The industry, once so flourishing, has, however, for some time
been in a declining state. The extensive importation of silk from Japan and China into Europe since the opening of the Suez Canal, and the abundant yield of recent seasons in Italy, have contributed mainly to this falling off. But the quality of Bengal silk is also reported to have deteriorated. The annual value of the silk produce of Bengal is from half a million to
million sterling; average of ten years, 1867 to about I million. In 1882, the value of the raw silk exported 1877, from all India was only 14 1,7 00, together with ;j^25o,535 worth of silk-goods
total,
—The
Stigar
.
under ;^4oo,ooo
sterling.
cultivation of the date-tree
and the manufacture of date
sugar are extensively carried on in Jessor, and in parts of Nadiya, the
Twenty-four Pargan 4 s, and Faridpur.
The
business for the cultivators.
about ^160,000, almost entirely, however, for average yearly exports by sea from Bengal
Jessor District alone
is
inland consumption.
The
do not exceed Saltpetre
.
a popular and profitable
It is
value of the sugar exported from
5 0,000.
—Saltpetre
is
refined in the northern Districts of the Patna
all branches of industry in India, its manubased on a system of advances. The large houses of business contract generally with middlemen, who again give advances to the village nuniyds, a poor and hardy race of labourers. These men rent
Division in Behar.
facture
Like
is
small patches of saliferous
soil,
collect the earth into
large
shallow
them and drain off the water, wfith the saline matter in it, into earthen vessels, and then boil and strain the liquor. The crude saltpetre thus manufactured is sold to the refiners, by whom is prepared the saltpetre of commerce. The value of the annual out-turn is about ^400,000. Steam-mills The most remarkable manufacturing feature of the pans, puddle
.
present Calcutta,
time
— is
the great
of steam
mills
development, in for
the
the
neighbourhood of
spinning and weaving of cotton
and jute in establishments of a European character under European There were in 1882, 20 large jute factories in and management. around Calcutta; and the tall smoking chimneys recall associations of the manufacturing cities of Europe.
It is
estimated that the annual
